


Out in the Cold

by TheUnkindledQueen



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, go figure LOL, this is my first mcsombra fic and it's angsty as hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:47:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21828427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUnkindledQueen/pseuds/TheUnkindledQueen
Summary: After all these years, he got a chance to see her one last time.
Relationships: Jesse McCree/Sombra | Olivia Colomar
Comments: 11
Kudos: 19





	Out in the Cold

**Author's Note:**

> “Nothing burns like the cold.”  
> ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
> 
> “The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day.”  
> ― Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat

~O~

He was sitting in the chair, listening to the crackling of the fire in the hearth; it was warm and comforting.

Jesse's eyes felt heavy today.

His chest ached.

His joints cracked when he shifted in his chair. 

It was so quiet and the snow fell outside, though he wasn't able to enjoy the sight of it. His eyes had failed him a long time ago; too many times behind the gun, too much age catching up with him. It was just inevitable and Jesse knew that his days were coming to an end. He only wished it didn't have to be like that. At least not yet until he'd achieved some closure. 

The front door creaked open behind him and he lifted his head, tilting his ear toward it. He was alone in the mountains, never having any visitors; and yet, the sound didn't frighten him. 

Bare footsteps filled the air. 

Soft, clinking noises of claws against the wood of the floor.

Jesse felt no fear when she approached his side. He smiled warmly and chuckled when he felt the icy chill of her presence and the smell of crisp winter air coming from her when she drew close.

He still remembered her as she'd looked when he first saw her - skin as blue and hair white as ice. 

"Hey," he said. "I didn't think you'd show up."

"Yeah." Olivia replied, regarding him with a mixture of sympathy and disappointment. "Well, I heard about what was going on and...had to come see my favorite cowboy. Wow, you look like shit."

"I hear ya', Snow Queen." he joked. 

Olivia groaned with dismay, shaking her head and laughing. It was a bad joke, but it made the air feel less warm, less horrible to deal with. "Ugh, you're never letting me live that one down, are you?"

"Nope. Not at all."

Jesse laughed a little, leaning back in his seat a little more. He wasn't wearing his metal arm and Olivia rounded the chair to see it; it'd left nothing but his arm missing at the elbow. She furrowed her brow, leaned her head to one side and touched his shoulder. Jesse looked down at the contact, his pale eyes still perpetually staring ahead. She had no idea he'd lost his sight and it made her heart clench. She really had been gone for a very long time without seeing him.

"Yeah, it felt a bit heavier today. Figured it wouldn't matter having it off, you know?" he said.

"I know." Olivia's reply was quieter now. " _Mira_ , I..." 

"Hey, hey, come on, now," Jesse told her, with a chuckle, "We had a good run, you and I. I don't blame you one bit for bailing. But still, I am glad you came back one last time."

Olivia took a seat on the floor, crossing her legs and looking up at him. Beside her wandered a snow fox and she gave the animal a little pet with one hand. Jesse sighed and looked around briefly before he ran his hand across his beard. Olivia swallowed thickly at the sight of him so grayed and weak.

"It's true what they say about you Rime spirits." he said. "You fellas don't age, huh?"

Olivia shook her head. "Nope."

It had been an odd conversation between them for those many years before she'd left; she would live forever and he would not. But Jesse had always been daring and foolhardy to try and have something with her. Olivia had remembered how cute it was to see the old cowboy trying to get her attention. But it was also really sad to see it - he would die of age. That's how it was. That's what kept her from feeling anything. 

For Jesse's end, he'd always wondered about where she'd come from before she'd become a Rime Spirit; she always avoided it and told him to call her "Sombra". She had a human name and was once human, but she always avoided mentioning her past and he never pushed too much as that made her happy. It had always been a strange situation, but it had been fine. Yet, maybe a part of him still hoped that he could know the real her before he died.

"Hey, would you like to go for a walk?" he asked.

Olivia blinked, surprised by the question. She hadn't expected him to ask that. "What? Why?"

"Nothing's going on," Jesse assured her, reaching down to touch her hand, "Just thought we'd go for a walk. Like we used to."

Olivia looked down, missing the contact of his hand when he pulled away. It made her smile sadly and she nodded. "Sure. You got it."

O

Walking was more difficult in the snow for him. 

Olivia watched as Jesse limped on a cane made up of wood while her snow foxes tailed behind them. They were drawn to her just as any creature of winter was. Jesse had never complained about it once since they had been seeing one another in the past.

"I remember this spot here..." Jesse paused in a brush, running his hand over the scratches still left in the tree. "It's where we met, right?"

Olivia nodded her head. 

Jesse pushed his hand against the old tree, smiling up at it. "That look. That was all it took."

_Jesse had been walking through the woods that early morning, dressed in his furs, pistol at the ready for hunting and his trusty hat to shield him from the bright sun. It was a time to go hunting and a perfect morning to really take in the smells and sights around him._

_But he stopped when he saw her and felt the temperature drop colder._

_Her skin was blue, icy patterns peppering her cheeks, thighs and arms. There was the strangest thing about the body armor that she wore and the claws on her hands and her bare feet. He'd never seen a woman look as striking as this one, especially when she had two white wolves standing at her side, her eyes bright and her irises thin, like the eyes of a cat._

_She just watched him._

_"Hey." Jesse managed._

_When he took one step toward her, she immediately vanished in a flicker of violet light like a skiddish doe, leaving him alone in the woods, stunned by what he'd seen. He'd never seen anything or anyone quite like her before. It left an impression on him for days to come._

Jesse chuckled softly. "I remember you playin' your share of pranks on me, too."

Olivia laughed now. "Hey, it got your attention, didn't it?"

"Hey, now. Paintin' my sheep blue and tying bells to their legs was a wild way to spend my morning."

_Jesse walked outside and wandered around his cabin, stunned to find two sheep painted an icy blue color. They ran back and forth, letting out terrified yelling sounds as the bells tied to their legs rang loudly. It was chaos. He threw his hands in the air with a yell of frustration._

_"What in the hell?" he snapped._

_Olivia watched him from atop of the cabin, laughing._

_Another day was spent with Jesse working on cleaning a deer he'd hunted for dinner. He felt eyes on the back of his head and looked over his shoulder, catching sight of a blue shape darting between the trees. He smiled, chuckled and resumed work on his deer, smiling up at the air as he pretended not to notice Olivia behind him._

"I remembered the day came when you stopped painting my sheep." Jesse said.

Olivia nodded, her smile fading. "Yeah, well, seemed a little stupid when you had a hard time getting out of bed."

"Yeah. I hear ya'."

Despite how the conversation had changes, Jesse delighted in talking about these memories, even as his joints began to ache. He leaned against the tree and the laughter from Olivia died down when she noticed this. She watched him, alarmed and quickly leaned against him so that he could sit on the ground and catch a second of breath. He shuddered a little in her arms, winced and reached into his coat, pulling out a flask and taking a quick drink. He tipped it into the air after a moment and laughed weakly. 

"Hair of the dog, am I right?" Jesse quipped.

Olivia sighed, looking toward the sun as it began to rise slowly over the mountains. He could clearly feel the warmth of it on his face and shut his eyes, tilting his head and looking down at Olivia. "What kind of sight do we got going on?" he asked her. "Is it pretty?"

"Oh, yeah, it looks great..." Olivia told him. "There's more orange now, and it's getting brighter. Just a little gold left."

Jesse smiled. "Nice. Must just be rising."

He heard Olivia's breath shudder out of her, tilted his head before kissing the top of hers. "My old lady told me 'There are things in life you put off, because you think you're gonna do them later. But the real thing she taught me is you gotta live like there may not be a later. I'm really glad it turned out like this and I got to know you, Snow Queen."

Olivia sputtered a laugh and it was slightly strained with pain. "Don't get sappy with me, Cowboy." 

"Come on, now. I gotta show my lady some love, you know that." Jesse laughed weakly, letting out a stream of coughing to follow. "I just gotta say that whoever had the chance to know you in the past, they were mighty lucky. I wish I had had the chance to know you." Another pause. "I know you keep that part of you back there in that place, but you were human once and no matter how much you changed, you're gonna stay beautiful, darling. Don't deny half of yourself for the rest of your life."

Olivia clenched her teeth, looking away as her eyes prickled. 

"Just...you're strong," Jesse assured her, leaning against her as his eyes closed. "With or without me."

Olivia put her arms around him, held his head to her chest and shut her eyes. They both remained silent as the sun began to rise, bathing them in warmth. 

She leaned down, whispered into his ear and Jesse's smile softened as the muscles in his body relaxed in her arms.

"Olivia, huh?" he mumbled, "Mighty fine name."

He shut his eyes and Olivia continued to hold him. Her grip tightened when she felt the air leave his lips, and the final beat of his heart.

And she cried alone. 

Her two foxes walked over, laid themselves down beside her and that was all.

The only sounds in the forest now were her soft sounds of grief.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by art by q5dis on Tumblr. I love their McSombra art quite a bit!


End file.
